#73) My best bro and I have been bronies for a while now. I would never bring up being a brony on purpose to anyone who didn't know. But now we're doing a project in Literature class, and my friend is doing his on how he became a brony. I don't think it's a good idea. In fact, I find it embarrassing. What should I do?

Answer: This is something that seems to happen reasonably often  people become big fans of "Friendship is Magic", and then fancy teaching the world to sing by shedding light on it in a class. And while you could argue that older individuals liking the show is an interesting point of observation, it's not particularly academic (not in terms of literature, at least) and so a presentation on it doesn't seem appropriate in general for that type of class.

It might be because I'm in the UK, but I know for a fact that if I presented on MLP in one of my university seminars I wouldn't be taken seriously by the teacher or the students. We tend to do our literature presentations on literature, oddly enough. You're within your right to feel embarrassed that he's going to be presenting on the show  it doesn't really belong in the classroom, and it is quite cringe-worthy when people decide to mix ponies with academia. It's just not necessary.

'How he became a brony' is something personal to him  it's not something that anyone else needs to hear, and there can be little doubt that people who present on ponies are trying to attempt to convert other people into liking the show, which is invasive. I imagine other people will be presenting on things a little more appropriate, which will make his presentation stand out even more.

That said, it's not you who's doing the presentation, so unless he explicitly mentions you in it you shouldn't really worry about it. Sure, he might embarrass himself, but that's his problem. As his friend you could advise him to present on something else; tell him your concerns and he might change his mind. However, if he's committed to present on ponies, he has to be able to cope with the inevitable ramifications that will follow. I always wondered when you see those videos on Youtube of people presenting about ponies to their class if the students afterwards thought it was weird. I imagine in most cases they would  it would be wishful thinking to expect a whole bunch of students to suddenly take an interest in the show based on one presentation.

Don't worry about it too much. If it really embarrasses you, either request that he present on something else, or ask that he not mention you in it.

#74) Brony conversion is faster when the show is during a season, slower when it's not. How many people will be converted into bronies before they start to become endangered?

Answer: 'Endangered'? Bronies are no longer human, apparently.

If you're asking how many bronies there will be before they start to 'die out', I think it's fairly hard to quantify. Some people have left the fandom who used to be part of it, and a few others are still discovering it now. It's impossible to work out just how many bronies there might be: popular websites such as Derpibooru tend to receive 25k unique visitors a day, while some of the biggest pony groups on DA have around the same amount of members. There are myriad websites that would suggest different numbers, some of which would comprise the same people and others would have entirely different users.

As a rough guess, you're probably talking about 50,000-75,000 people who would describe themselves as 'bronies'. That could be completely wrong  I have no evidence to base that on, aside from making a rough estimate based on website page-views. There are definitely more young girls into the TV show than adults, though  that I'm sure of. As an answer to your question, all I can do is make assumptions and speak of inevitabilities.

One inevitability is that the fandom will slow down after the show ends. You could probably argue that most people who are going to become bronies will be bronies already. Most bronies are technologically prolific, and at this stage if you haven't seen ponies around on the internet, then you're unlikely to be the sort of person who will become a brony. After the show ends, a lot of people, myself included, will move on to pastures new, until there's a small but loyal following left. In ten years, DA will have far fewer pony images being uploaded every day  that I can guarantee.

Also, 'converted'  gah! I hate it when people use that word in relation to bronies. Makes them sound like a religious cult.

#75) Can I ask you something? It's about art. The brony community is a wonderful gallery of all kinds of arts , but what do you think of the people who draw ponies in the show style, and not their own style for these little and magical animals?

Answer: I think it makes sense. People like the show, and therefore if you draw in the same style as the show then people are going to like what you produce, more often than not. Images in the show-style can be really useful, especially on merchandise, such as shirts and badges. If you wanted to wear something pony-related, you'd probably want it to have a show-style image on it, just for the sake of keeping everything standardised and easy to identify. I imagine that people who wear pony shirts, after all, do it because they live in the hope that another person will recognise the characters on their clothing and remark, "Woah! You're a brony too?!'

Now, that's not to say that drawing ponies in your own style is a bad thing. When it comes to commissions, for example, most people would rather commission an artist with a unique style than one who emulates the show. It's arguably a more unique image if you have an original style. It's possible to get popular in the fandom by doing both kinds of images, although you have more chance of being recognised if you have a unique style  people will instantly be able to identify the artist, which might not be possible with show-style art.

Aside from that, there's not much more to say. Some people feel more comfortable copying an existing style; others are confident to apply their own approach. In the same way, some people would like to see art that looks similar to the show, while others deliberately seek out artists who can draw ponies in their own style. Both types of art have their own merits and disadvantages, but come together to form an engaging and creative whole.

Brony Advice is both an active collaboration with artists and an advice column, in the simplest of terms: I want you to send me notes if you have any problems, secrets or comments on the pony fandom of any nature. It doesn't matter how embarrassing, offensive or vicious they might be - if you want someone to comment on them in an unbiased way, send them over. Maybe there's something within the fandom that you particularly despise, or perhaps you're feeling sad and need to hear some friendly advice? Whatever the motive, send me a note with your comment or question.

I'll then respond with advice and commentary and post the answers up in future installments. Users will remain anonymous, so you don't need to worry about your feelings and thoughts getting out onto DeviantArt. You may find that some of the things that you've personally been feeling will be addressed.

Feel free to note me if you would like your questions and observations to be answered in an upcoming edition. Every edition will be engaging with three issues. The above three featured today were submitted by anonymous deviants.

Our (Derpibooru) 25k unique users per day figure is exactly that, per day. Most people, unbelievably enough, don't visit the same site every day of the week. Our total number of unique regular users is just under 250k.

#73, normally I don't recommend that topic, it may look easy to handle. But unless there's some real reason why want to write that essay in the first place. If I would to do that, I talk about the cartoon industry on how it runs well in the 90s and then show its decline in the late 2000, Spongebob and live action shows, etc.. Later then explain why FIM is a good show and I became a brony? The answer is just like what animation critics would to say, quality storylines, character developments, etc.. Don't forget to mention other cartoons too as you want to balance out so that people don't get too weird on the whole "Why this guy watches a girl's show" feeling. Anyway, hence the author said, it's all up to him, an early warning sign is better. Because the last time I went to a cheerleading event and I claim myself to be some student from my old school, but sadly, I went back to my seat with full blushed face since not only I didn't get the chance to answer when the host which school team won first prize which I know the answer it's my old school itself, the other is being those school students who see me don't know who I am at all, so yeap, I should have seen that embarrassment coming.

#74, well said by the author, because it's all a matter of fashion when it comes to new cartoons from time to time, once it's cancelled, we move on to another good cartoon. As far as worshipping it like a religion, don't be ridiculous, this is just like the real life equivalent of Apple Inc & their fans, they treat the company as some temple in Jerusalem while Tim Cook is their "Jesus Christ", but guess what, Apple Inc is just some bricks and steels while Tim Cook is just another flesh and blood, not some Christian messiah from heaven. So don't let FIM being treated as a religion, it will make non-pony people see you and possibly us being ridiculous or any other negative words they can say to describe.

Thanks for answering my question (#73). I guess I should let him embarrass himself. He's used to the banter about, as others would put it, "looking up unicorns", and he's not in my class anyhow, so I guess I shouldn't worry. Plus he embarrasses himself all the time. It seems like he doesn't have a care in the world about what others think of him. In a way, we're like Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Does he feel shame? Sometimes shame like this can last for life, if you read my comment about the cheerleading part, that painful memory of mine back was around 2008 and still can remember which normally I refuse to remember. That's ok if you try to give the early warning signals, if he chooses to ignore, I don't want to sound rude, it's his funeral but it's also a matter of his personal choice. Well, people will have to make risky decisions, right? And nobody can avoid that.

On the academic part, I'd say sociology is a proper subject to present ponies in, due to the phenomenon of it having a fanbase that goes against its intended demographic, something that covers the topic of society and gender.

That aspect alone has many sociologists studying the fandom itself, which I'm sure you've seen or at least have heard about the surveys done on bronies.

Anything else though, literature or whatever, it doesn't seem to fit, you'd have to do very good work to make it so. It possibly has a place in a mythology class, due to it being influenced by things that both originate in and are inspired by mythology.

Also, I forgot to mention, I think the primary drive behind bronies doing presentations in their classes based on "my little pony" is due to the fact that that one guy did a physics presentation on the show, and it was very successful for him (hasbro even sent him a crap ton of free merchandise for it).

So bronies saw that, and some thought that they, too, could pull it off.

#73 As someone who is a big proponent of education, I take slight offense at the idea of presenting "How I Became a Brony" in a literature class.

Lit classes are for learning about literature, period. If I were in that class, I would expect my fellow students to make presentations about a classic novel explaining how they reached their level of notoriety. Things like how 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great glimpse into what might have been, how A Christmas Carol is an interesting look into the consequences of extremism (in this case, the extreme reaction Scrooge had to growing up poor), and how Rendezvous With Rama presents a fascinating insight into what our first contact with an alien civilization might look like. I would however be both surprised and a little ashamed of a student who took that opportunity to waste five to ten minutes of my time explaining how he became a brony.

Don't get me wrong: I am a brony myself, and have been a fan of one thing or another for a long time, so I understand the mindset. I also like hearing people tell how they discovered My Little Pony.

I just do NOT think that a literature class is the appropriate place to hear it.

If he must do a MLP subject, I would suggest presenting a case for fan fiction being as good in some cases as true fiction, using MLP as a hook, but that's as far as I would dare.

#74 I still respectfully disagree with Cudpug's assessment that the fanbase will drop away after the show is over, for the most part. I've seen and been a part of a lot of merchandise driven fanbases, and they all have one thing in common: they last far longer than the show.

There are three examples that come to mind.

The first is Star Wars. This has always been about the merchandise, though it doesn't hurt that it has an excellent story as well. George Lucas said he really wanted to make the movie because he wanted a Wookie mug (which he eventually got), and one of the first things he did was secure rights to merchandise from the film. This ended up generating a ton of revenue, which gave him the money to personally fund The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which led to more toys and models and books and . . . Then years later someone wrote a novel, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye," which spurred more interest, and the cycle continues, even today. It's been almost a decade since Revenge of the Sith, and the fan base is still going strong.

The second is Transformers. I'm not a part of this fandom, but it follows a similar story: they decided to make a SAM cartoon in order to sell toy robots, and the cartoon was so awesome that it developed a fanbase of its own. This fanbase never really died, though it did dwindle a little, and when Michael Bay made his Transformers movie, the popularity of the line shot through the roof, and the fanbase is still going strong.

Finally, there is Alvin and the Chipmunks. This show has always and will always exist to sell records, mostly covers of songs by other artists, but with a Chipmunk flavor. The SAM show for this was well-written and acted, and had some interesting stories and funny stuff that still entertain to this day, as evidenced by the episodes being released on DVD, which probably wouldn't have happened if they weren't able to secure the rights to the songs contained on them (there was a song every episode which was a cover, and long story short, they never negotiated rights to sell the episodes). The new movies spawned a new generation of fans, but the old ones never really went away.

The thing that all of these have in common is they are product-driven; they wouldn't exist without merchandise to back them up. They also have well-written material, which holds up to this day.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has both of those elements. Whether it holds on to it's fanbase is really anyone's guess, but if you ask me, they'll be around longer than the show, because that's the trend with product-driven shows. It is by no means a prediction, but it is an educated guess based on the history of similar shows.

#75 Being as how I happen to draw in the show's style, I may be a little biased in saying that I see nothing wrong with it. Since Cudpug seems to agree with me, then I'm certain of it.

There's more to drawing in the show's style than merely copying a frame of animation.

When I draw a pony, I find it's a true test of skill to get the proportions correct. Drawing in one's own style is easy, because it comes naturally. But trying to copy the show's style is tricky, because you have to get everything exactly right or else it will look "off" somehow. For instance, there are several elements to the eyes: the general shape, shape of the eyelashes, shape of the iris, iris gradient, iris highlights, eyeball highlights, pupil size, size ratio between the pupil and iris, etc. It's surprisingly complex for such a seemingly simple character. The rest of the pony is about as complex, if not moreso, and every one of those has to be dead on or else it will not look right. There is some flexibility in the design, but not much.

So if someone thinks it's just a copy-paste job, they really need to give it a try. I guarantee it's harder than it looks.

I definitely see your examples of other fandoms that live on as being solid, although I agree with Berlioz below that they aren't quite the same. "Friendship is Magic" is very much a moment-in-time kind of thing. Ten years down the line, Hasbro will have changed up their marketing strategy and introduced Generation 5. At that point, if it isn't as good (or even if it is) purists won't make the move over to it. They'll cling to their Generation 4 because it's familiar.

I've outlined what will happen before, but I'll do it again. One major factor that drives the fandom is news and updates. Take a website like Equestria Daily - they feed on people sending in fan-fictions, pictures, and by seizing upon news and conventions. When the show is officially over, there will no longer be news to report on relating to the show. Therefore, there will be less traffic on the site from people who only really care about the news (myself, for example).

The voice actors and actresses will move on to different things. They won't be attending brony conventions in twenty years; they'll have other things going on that will occupy their time, and they'll barely remember "Friendship is Magic". They'll remember the fandom, sure, but the show will hardly be something that they'll remain close to. Many people who have attended conventions will stop going, as I know quite a few people who only go to meet with the staff working on the show.

Without new episodes, there will be fewer fan-fictions, as most ideas will be done, and there won't be any new canon characters to use. People will be limited by what they've been exploring for the past X amount of years and will become bored by the subject matter. Other shows and fandoms will crop up, and a lot of pony artists will start drawing other things in favour of whatever the next craze is.

A lot of bronies are teenagers and students - at thirty, it's fair to assume that a lot of them will distance themselves from the fandom. That won't necessarily be a conscious thing, but I know that when I start a family and have to work 9-5 every weekday, I'm not going to be sitting here writing Brony Advices and running a pony group on DeviantArt. The current typical age demographic of bronies (naturally there are some adult fans) will grow up, and when that happens, they'll have less time for ponies.

I'm not saying that bronies will disappear for good. I am, however, firmly of the opinion that there will be fewer fans of it in the future. How can there not be? People will drop off the ride; new interests will crop up; some will wonder what they were doing in the fandom in the first place, and others will forget about their online presence. It's inevitable that after the show ends the fandom will slow down - I'm certainly going to be distancing myself from it, and I know plenty of people who are already drifting already, and, once the show is over, will do the exact same thing as me and move on.

I probably should have stressed more that I believe the fanbase will die down, though I still believe it won't go away completely as soon as the first new generation hits. Regarding that last paragraph, I think we agree more in truth than it appears on the surface. We agree that the fanbase will last, I think we just disagree on how long they will last.

But we'll see. I'm sure I'll be proven wrong, but I'd like to think that the fanbase will last a while, because it seems to be the trend.

Regarding your points in #74, I'd see the biggest hurdle for the fandom to get over is the fact that, unlike your other examples (and I'd add Star Trek into the mix too, which is often used as a parallel) is that those others either aren't part of a large franchise or then have a greater expanse of fans to the whole brand name. Though I have no experience with Alvin to say anything of it, the others have fanbases that are much more fulsome for the entire franchise. The thing with MLP is that the current fanbase is almost entirely focused on FiM (G4) and not MLP in general. And while there are people who also say G1 has its merits, you barely ever hear anyone mention G2 at all, and G3 is generally sneered at for its poor quality. G4 on the other hand has the merits lacking from the others of being devised by Lauren Faust (who has enough credit to be taken seriously to make something good), a starting point of having the show not be just a weak excuse to promote a toyline instead of also making good television, and the full package of production personnel dedicated to making something better than what has existed before for the MLP universe.

Thus in comparison you don't have the same all inclusive nature of say Star Wars' different movies and spinoffs, of Star Trek's multitude of often equally well-thought of versions (TOS, the 11 movies, Next Gen, DSN, Voyager, Enterprise), or Transformers' correlation between the original cartoon and Bayformers. Now, when G4 eventually will come to an end, and which will then likely be replaced by G5 down the line, if the next version of MLP fails to hit the same stride as G4 (depending who they'll get to develop it), then the entire brony fandom will find themselves entirely reliant on a single defunct version of a franchise that will no longer be catering to the older variant of the brand. Of course, if G5 can continue the momentum, then the fandom can indeed last and evolve, but it flops, then the fandom may end up struggling to keep the faith.

And while that doesn't mean G4 can't hold up a certain contingent of fans far into the future, most would probably find the fandom stagnate out of lack of rejuvenation in the long run, and thus find something else to get excited about.

Well, ultimately only time will tell the future of the fandom and the fate of the whole brony movement. Sometimes things you expect to not last miraculously keep themselves going in spite of the difficulties, while some things you think will last forever will just fizzle out and disappear eventually. Personally, I'm not going to denounce the series nor stop liking it once the end comes, but I also know with absolute certainty that it will just take its place in the multi-storied star map of all the other series and interests I've taken major personal part in over the years before they have been overtaken by more current ones. It's just the nature of the beast.

Though that said, my main point of interest has always been the series itself, so if the fandom dies down or disappears completely, it won't exactly make much of a difference to me. The fans may be fickle, but the series is eternal.

Yep. There are a few episodes I really, really like, and if Star Trek and music in general is anything to go by, those will probably keep me going back to the show long after it's overwith.

In fact, I still put in my Firefly DVDs and watch those, because the humor is so great and the stories and setting is so cool (even though I'm aware of its similarity to Cowboy Bebop). It ended a long time ago, yet I and a large following of Browncoats still talk about it and attend conventions in order to see the cast and catch up on what they're doing. So again, while there is a good chance that the fandom will die down, if the series is great it won't deteriorate that much.

One other reason I really hope they continue for a long time is the charity work they do. Not that charities didn't already exist, but the brony community allows massive coordination and teamwork to be possible, as it unites people in ways that normal charities don't. The 501st Stormtrooper Legion is the same way: it's a group of costumers who are tightly knit, and they use their notoriety and the popularity of the Star Wars franchise to raise millions of dollars for various not-for-profit groups and charities. It's something that makes me proud to be a Star Wars fan. Similarly, Bronies for Good makes me proud to be a brony. So there is more riding on my hope than a mere kinship with other fans.

I entirely agree. With "Friendship is Magic", a lot of what drives the fanbase is user-generated content based around the show, and part of the lasting appeal is waiting for the next season to air to add more fuel to the creative fire. If there's no longer a show, it will slow down the process - people will find other things to do. I'll go into more depth in my response to Millennium above, but I do love how these brony advices have become a forum for a bunch of regulars to discuss and debate - makes for interesting times!

Although the topic of "how I became a brony" may not be in the vein of studying literature, if the project is merely to construct a presentation, than I think your advice is way off. There's nothing embarrassing or inappropriate about using the subject of one's hobbies to practice presenting.

'Embarrassing' was his word, if you look. I merely use the prompt that the user gave to me.

As for 'inappropriate', that comes down to presenting on how he became a brony in a literature class, which, as MillenniumFalsehood said below, doesn't really have anything to do with the class in question.

No, but there is something definitely weird about talking about ponies in a lit class. Literature classes are for studying classic works and figuring out how they became so ingrained in culture, not for giving presentations on how one becomes a brony. The biggest reason I can think of is that it's not literature in the slightest. If the subject were on fan fictions using MLP as a hook, I might see that as being related to the class. But a presentation on "How I became a brony" is hardly appropriate, and would more suit a Public Speaking class.

#75Believe me, it's more difficult to emulate the show's style than one might think. Your own style's comfortable and familiar, and you can get away with trying different things, visually. When emulating the show's style, precision becomes key as any little imperfection will stand out like a sore thumb. So props to artists who actually prefer to work that way.

Another problem with show-exact artists is that they tend to be under-appreciated. An artist's style is their signature, so what do you do when X's ponies look like Y's? I hate to admit it, but I have several show-specific-style pics in my Favorites folder because the artist had a great idea and/or composition... but don't think I could remember a name on the spot. So props to those show-specific-style artists.

I think (for me personally) the only time it bothers me that people draw in the show style is when they're selling that art. I've seen people on dA who have done commissions in the MLP show style and their poses were be taken directly from the show (probably a screen shot). To me (and the law) this is a form of copyright infringement and it's probably why Hasbro is so strongly against the MLP commissions community. A while ago I heard they were forcibly removing works from eBay that were "too close to the show" because it was considered selling copyrighted material (which is illegal). I think for me it's less of "oh they're not original" and more "I wish they didn't have to use that to make money". There's definitely a group of artists out there that banks of the popularity of the show and dedication of the fans to make money, and that's really sad. It's why I don't participate in the MLP commissions community much? And even then, everything is in my own style. I'm pretty terrified of copyright lawyers- haha.

That doesn't make it legal though, even if there's a supply/demand. There's tons of demand for drugs like cocaine or weed, but that doesn't make buying or selling them legal. Not that those two things are on the same "level" of illegality. *shrugs* It's up to those who buy/sell to decide how much they want to skirt the law, not me. A while ago deviantart had a huge admin journal post about the "law" of fanart and they had a video of their lawyer explaining what does and doesn't follow the law in regards to fanart. It was a real eye opener. There's actually a few deviants on deviantart who have been sued (and have lost!). It's not that I'm going on a tirade saying "they're horrible people because they sell pony art in the show style!". It's more of I'm worried for them? I'd hate to see hard working artists be taken down by a huge company, when they really don't have to be? It's okay to draw in the show style, just... don't sell it. Or like, do art trades instead? I admit that my opinion is not a popular one (a lot of people get angry at me), but that doesn't mean I'll change my opinion/beliefs on fanart/law just because so many people take the opposite side.

Plenty of artists are making a profit out of, just off the top of my head, shirts with show-style images on them through WeLoveFine, via which they receive a portion of the payment. Hasbro are very much aware of WeLoveFine and seem to allow people to sell their merchandise through it with relative indifference.

Ah yeah, I've heard of that. I think they allow it to a certain point... (I think WeLoveFine gives money to the companies? Not sure though) but I think it's still better to be safe than sorry? *shrugs* Like I said, my opinion isn't a popular one, but it's how I feel.

I'm shocked that they are still making more and more Pokemon episodes but I think a lot more effort goes into making a My little Pony Episode. The show does have a lot more things going for it than Pokemon in that I think Pokemon they are running out of gyms and cities to go to but my little pony we do not know how big the world they are in and all the crazy other lands and creatures out there.

As an artist who draws only using the show's style, I'm glad to know you don't oppose that. This is especially important to me because I'm a traditional artist; my medium is colored pencils, after all. I didn't even try to start drawing until MLP became something I enjoyed, so the fact that anypony yells at me for not developing something entirely unique is maddening.

#73: It's not impossible that his literature class could be doing a small unit on speech presentation, just as said speech could have been intended for literature. You never know with schools.If the first presumption is true, then he will probably be quite a bit less embarrassed about his speech afterward.Either way, it seems like the speech maker doesn't really CARE who knows, and come what ridicule may come!I myself have confessed my brony-ness in a smaller scale in public. A big speech is just bigger. That's all.

#74: Just 75,000? What about a bunch of people on the internet who don't admit to being bronies?Cudpug, my good friend, I think you're underestimating. But that's just me.

I guess it just comes down to my dislike for people being so open about how they became a brony while simultaneously gushing praise about the show. It's the equivalent of someone standing up in front of me and saying, "This is the story of how I found religion" - it's all entirely subjective and personal, and it's not something that I, or anyone around me, needs to hear. People are welcome to like what they like, but I really don't need to hear the whole, 'I was in a dark place, but then ponies made everything better. The show is so well made etc.' It's hyperbolic and irritating.

I may be underestimating how many bronies there are - I admit that I have no idea how many there might be. I'd assume that there aren't as many as a lot of people think, though.